


A Thousand Tiny Moments

by eeyore9990



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-14 00:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2170749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeyore9990/pseuds/eeyore9990
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It hits Derek like a two by four to the face.  Of course loving Stiles would feel like that.  <i>Of course it would</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Thousand Tiny Moments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lidil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lidil/gifts).



> I couldn't sleep. Because of feels.
> 
> For these two idiots. Ugh.

It happens all at once. 

But at the same time, it happens in increments, tiny moments that add up to something real and treasured. Five years of life saving and bleeding on each other. Of pizza and pack movie nights and pouring over maps and ancient texts and the bestiary until they're blurry-eyed and stumbling with exhaustion.

They've each had relationships, some good, some bad. Derek no longer waits for the other shoe to drop with his partners. No longer has to feign sleep when one spends the night because all he can smell is gasoline and betrayal.

Neither of them has had long lasting relationships, but Stiles had been at school -- "no one's locking _all this_ down; that'd be criminal," he'd always shouted, jokingly, when the topic of his love-life rose up in casual conversation -- and Derek had been finding his feet, both personally and professionally.

If you ask him later, Derek will say it was always leading to this moment, but honestly? In that instant, it absolutely _blindsides_ him, and all he can do is plant his feet on the floor and try not to list sideways as his entire world lurches under him.

Because... he sees Stiles. _Really_ sees him, for the first time since he met two dorky, bumbling teenagers at the edge of the Hale property. 

The funny thing is, it's not like their eyes are meeting across a crowded room. Stiles isn't even looking at Derek when it happens. He's laughing at something Cora said, his lips parted in humor, whole face relaxed and easy.

The sunlight is pouring through the window and some of it cuts through Stiles's eyes, lighting them up from the inside while simultaneously making them look otherworldly. Translucent.

Derek has always known Stiles was a good looking kid. He'd always found himself scoffing, rolling his eyes and biting back scathing words of denial everytime Stiles made a cuttingly self-deprecating remark. 

But then Stiles had grown into himself, gained a new confidence, and the people around him lost the blinders over their eyes -- and yeah, the irony's not lost on Derek -- and he'd had his first relationship. With Derek's _cousin_ , because of fucking course. And then a string of fun, flirty, not-too-serious, "my one committment to Eichen House was enough, thanks" relationships.

So here they are. Here _Stiles_ is, standing in Derek's home, laughing with Derek's sister, comfortable and familiar and startlingly different all at once. 

Derek's palms are wet, which he'd like to blame on the condensation beaded up on his bottle of beer, but he can't even sell that lie to himself. He wonders, vaguely, if he looks as gut-punched as he feels. 

He drags his eyes away from Stiles, frantically looking around the room, counting pack mates, checking avenues of escape. His gaze clashes with Scott's, who's looking at him with concern. Derek's heart just trips faster in his chest until Scott is walking over, smiling genially and making excuses for him.

"Hey," Scott says, when he's managed to drag Derek out onto the balcony, whole face a picture of anxious concern. "Breathe, man. I need you to breathe, okay?"

Derek gasps, chokes a little, nods his head as his vision swims. He blinks blindly at Scott, mouth working as he tries to find a way to describe what's happening to him, but all he can say is, "I _see_ him."

Scott... doesn't even blink. His expression just melts into one of extreme fondness. "Yeah."

"How?" Derek shakes his head, tries to organize his scattered wits, stumbles over the futility of it all. "I mean... I don't..."

"You _do_ ," Scott says, like that even _means_ anything. But his smile is dazzling, and he smells happy and so damn content that Derek can't argue.

Derek just shakes his head, still feeling like he's just tumbled over the edge of a cliff.

"Hey," he hears and turns to see that Stiles is stepping onto the balcony, pulling the door shut behind himself after a quick glance back. "Everything okay out here? Lydia said you looked like you'd seen a ghost." Stiles is looking at him, teeth latched onto his bottom lip, forehead wrinkled and eyes big, concerned.

Derek has never felt so overwhelmed, so _battered_ by love in his life. He can only stare at Stiles, his heart drumming an irregular tattoo in his chest, mouth dry and tongue thick and swollen and _Scott is abandoning him, what the hell_.

Douchebag Alpha, ugh.

But Stiles is still there, and the concern is turning to worry, anxiety threading through his scent. He's reaching for Derek, his hands anchors that hold the tide of emotion back just long enough for Derek to take a quick, shaky, gasping breath.

"I love you," he says, feeling shattered by it. Broken.

Then he's healed, put back together, settled on a solid foundation again when Stiles lets out a slow, whining sound, his face going utterly soft with joy. "Derek," he breathes, and then he's looking at _Derek_ like his whole universe just converged on a single point. 

Derek watches the play of emotions over that beautiful face, watches Stiles' eyes go wide and a little shocky, and then _Stiles_ is stuttering over the "How"s and "I didn't know"s and Derek just... 

Laughs.

Because it's hilarious and stupid and _god_ they're both idiots, but then Stiles is surging forward, sucking the sound of Derek's laughter right off his tongue. 

And it's easy. God, it's so easy. They fit together and move around each other so smoothly, so naturally. Stiles' fingers slide through his hair, and his jaw fits perfectly in the palm of Derek's hand.

Of course, as luck and _his life_ would have it, they're standing in front of an entire wall of windows through which the sound of their pack's catcalls and cheers filter, loud enough even to get Stiles' attention.

Derek eases out of the kiss, but he can't bring himself to pull fully away. Stiles must be having a similar problem because he just sighs and leans his forehead against Derek's. 

Derek smiles, can't stop smiling, so overwhelmed with happiness it radiates through him.

"How did I not know?" Stiles whispers, and it's so quiet, just for Derek's ears.

Derek slides his head to the side, his cheek pressed against Stiles' so he can whisper in his ear. "I think we always knew. We just weren't ready."

"I'm so ready." Stiles' body shakes against his, and Derek slides his hands down, wrapping them around this beautiful, terrifying man in his arms. "I'm so ready it scares me."

Derek laughs, a soft huff of breath against Stiles' ear, feels his shivers increase. "Well, I guess we'll do what we've always done. Face down the danger together."

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr](http://eeyore9990.tumblr.com).


End file.
